Jump starting others

[Stainlessbus]

Will the Cybertruck have the capability to jump start ice vehicles eg cars lawnmowers tractors etc?

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[ajdelange]

The Tesla vehicles have a small (30 - 32 Ah) 12V battery which runs everything in the cars except the traction motors, the heat pump compressor and the electric heaters. We assume the CT will also have this battery as rumors that Tesla will drop it have not materialized (yet). I guess you could jump an ICE vehicle from this battery. The only concern is for the relatively small size of it (not much bigger than a motorcycle battery).

The CT will have some pretty stiff AC outlets in the bed. They could probably be used with the sort of battery charger that has jump capability to start or at least fast charge the battery in an ICE vehcle.

 

[Luke42]

Don't forget that relatively compact lithium battery (LiPo?) jump packs are available now. I saw one at Meijer the other day for $50, and it looked to be about the size of a VHS videotape. Heavier, though.

I also have one of those 120V battery chargers which is supposed to be able to jump the car directly. I'm not convinced it works, but it's a pretty decent 12V quick charger. There's every reason I could toss that and an extension cord in the bed, if needed, and power it from the inverter.

I like to be one of those guys who always has a set of jumper cables for a friend (or stranger) in need. But there are many ways to solve the problem of starting a stranded motorist and the need is much less common, now that everyone has a smartphone.

 

[ajdelange]

I've got one of those little jumper "paks". It is extremely useful for charging my wireless headphones but I have never tried to jump a car with it. I can't believe it's capable but they claim it is.

 

[Cyber_Dav]

I've got one of those little jumper "paks". It is extremely useful for charging my wireless headphones but I have never tried to jump a car with it. I can't believe it's capable but they claim it is.

They are. I'm cheap, when my last battery got old and would barely hold a charge I got one. Used it often until I broke down and bought a new battery.

They do not replace 120v jump starters, though. They are only good for a few seconds, so the car must be willing to start.

 

[Crissa]

I have had spotty reliability with jump packs, alas.

-Crissa

 

[android04]

Tesla does not recommend that you jump other vehicles with the 12v battery because it's pretty small. I carry a LiFePO4 jump starter in my frunk (NOCO GB40) and have used it like 6 times to jump start other vehicles. I've used it twice to limp cars to a parts store (with dead battery and alternator). The only time I've had it not work was when it was around -10°F (colder with wind chill) and the cold reduced the jump starter's battery capacity. Keep in mind that trying to jump over and over in the cold will eventually warm the LiFePO4 battery and could still work. We were close to a big box store and decided to just go buy a cheap jump starter instead of trying over and over until my jump starter warmed up.